Key Events

KEY EVENTS

St Mark’s Day

The St Mark's Day service was held back until 1 May 2011 as Easter Day fell very late this year.  Unfortunately, the Revd Kenneth Leech, who had been due to be our guest preacher, was unable to attend due to suffering a bad fall the day before.  It was a well-attended service and was followed by some 40 members sharing the Parish meal served in the church hall, which had been prepared by Iris Clark, our Catering Manager (left).  The hall had been set out already and it looked beautiful.

Whit Walks  (Pentecostal procession of witness)

Pentecost is the festival when Christians celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is celebrated on the Sunday 50 days after Easter.  Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Christian church, and the start of the church's mission to the world.  The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that is the way Christians understand God. 

 left: children's groups leaving the Town Hall

 centre: preparing to set off

 right: Adamson's Band and children's groups arriving at the Town Hall

We had a great turn out this year - four Banners were carried.  It was lovely to see them and so many people walking with our Church.  Many thanks to all the men who carried the banners for us.  It was quite a chilly morning and we were very lucky that it didn't rain (well not until we were about three minutes away from arriving back at Church).  Fortunately, it wasn't the year when we take the longer walk home otherwise there would have been a lot of wet people arriving back for their morning tea and coffee!

Summer Fair

Every year we have a Summer Fair and, in 2011, it was again held in the Vicarage garden on 2 July with gazebos covering each stall, giving a very picturesque scene to people as they walked through the gate.  We were blessed with wonderful sunshine for the third year in a row and also blessed with more stalls and more people attending.  This year our puppet team treated us for the first time to two, half hour shows to entertain the children and adults with their singing and antics.  The performances were a great success.  Also new this year was a bouncy castle and fire engine which the children loved.  It was an attractive and worthwhile event for families, children, visitors, family members and neighbours to attend.  It all helps our welcome and integration of folk into the church community.  For further information on the Lord's Lions Puppet team go to the: Puppet Team Page

Back to Church Sunday

This service was held on Sunday 25 September 2011.  It's a nationwide event which makes it feel special knowing that all the churches are worshipping together.  We had a lot of visitors, including Councillor Jacqui Lane, and our guest preacher was Gus Eyre who also sang and played his guitar.  Over 50 people joined us in the hall for our Sunday lunch, prepared by Chris Worrall and Iris Clarke.

Evie waylaid for a photograph before getting to her pudding! (left)

Assisted by her mother, Kath Bowker, Helen Schofield held a trial session of Little Lions Sunday school in the church lounge during this service when eight children attended.  We look forward to launching Little Lions with a new team of helpers next month.

All Souls Day

All Souls Day is a surprisingly old feast.  It arose out of the Christian tradition of celebrating the martyrdom of saints on the anniversary of their martyrdom.  When martyrdoms increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, local dioceses instituted a common feast day of 1 November in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honoured.  At St Mark’s, we hold an All Souls Day service when we invite the families of all those who have died in our parish especially during the past year to remember them and read out their names.

To see the dates for all special services and social activities, go to Diary of Events 2012